Win/Lose/Draw

A short rundown of the products/companies/pieces I love, the ones that I am not a fan of, and the ones that I’m still not quite sure about.

                                                     Win!

I am absolutely smitten with Klorane dry shampoo. I have naturally oily skin, and a little while back I got bangs. I did not anticipate the weird problem this would create. By about 5 every day, my bangs would become a visibly greasy mess. Nothing horrifying, but pretty unappealing. I resigned myself to the idea that I may have to take a shower each day after work in order to go out, but then I found Klorane.

Klorane dry shampoo absolutely delivers. I spray a bit into my hair, focusing especially on my bangs. I have dark hair, so it does leave a powdery white residue that I just comb out. I also noticed if I spray the bottom side of my hair, I can skip this step. This stuff wildly exceeded my expectations- my hair is fluffy, light and clean within minutes. I cannot say enough good things about this product. The only downside is that one can is $18 at my local Sephora, and I use this pretty much daily. I’m looking for a cheaper brand at the moment, hoping to find something affordable and comparable.

                                                   Win!

Threads 4 Thought organic cotton tees. These are made by an eco-conscious company making sustainable apparel. While this makes me high five myself (tricky), I would buy these tees at Walmart if that's where I had to go. I practically live in them. I actually discovered my first one in TJ Maxx- I bought it off the sale rack for $5 and wore it until it fell apart. I tracked the company down, knowing I'd need more immediately. They are thin, super soft, and ridiculously comfortable. The website claims that this is possibly the best fitting tee on the planet, and I absolutely agree. The best part? They're just $10 apiece. How can you beat that? I have them in 4 different colors, with every intent to buy more. The site has some other really pretty clothing, but I haven't branched out yet.

  

Lose.

These American Eagle flip flops. Normally, American Eagle has extremly comfortable leather sandals- I go there every year and get a pair that lasts until next year (after that they start to look pretty sad, but remain comfortable). These were a very rare miss. The straps have a peculair way of cutting into my toes- it's hard to wear them even to run to my mailbox. Ouch.

                                                     Draw?

I heard a lot of good things about Bare Escentuals face primer, so I gave it a shot and bought a bottle on Ebay for around $11. I thought I really got a steal, until the ridiculously tiny bottle arrived. I've had great experiences with the foundation and thought this would make a big difference, but I'm still kind of on the fence. I've been using it all week and can't tell a huge difference. My makeup does stay a bit longer, but is it really worth the price? Hm. (note: the bottle pictured is bigger than the one I bought, which I suspect is a sample.)

Ballerinas Dance, and Sometimes Fall.

Old(ish) grey dress + pink tulle skirt underneath + pink snakeskin belt = childish, and a bit too matchy-matchy in the best way. I really love this.

 

 

Dress - F21 (bought last fall)

Pink tulle skirt - F21, $17.50

Shoes - Nine West ($5 on Ebay)

Belt - Savers, $3

What's that you ask? No, that's not dirt on my knees. This weekend I fell down a few steps at a local bar (yes, quite drunk) and skidded my knees. The worst casualty of all was my favorite pair of heels. I found these in TJ Maxx last year and have never been able to find them online, even second hand. They are my most comfortable pair of heels and I always get compliments on them. Pretty sad.

Just Some Eye Candy.

I was just trolling around, obsessing about convertible dresses again when I saw this. My heart actually fluttered.

Lulu Dress, Butter by Nadia - $265

Best in black and white stripes, but look how cute when you wiggle the straps down!

I love that beautiful clothes actually give me the same lurch that I used to get when I saw a crush in the hall in high school.

Also, I saw a girl at work today with her nails painted robin's egg blue- rapidly becoming my favorite color. I keep daydreaming of short, elegantly shaped pale blue/green nails...

photo courtesy blogdorf goodman

Super Steals.

I decided today to impose some spending limits on myself, as I've been shopping a ridiculous amount lately. But I do not feel guilty about my two most recent purchases- a little purple cocktail dress (with pockets!) from TJ Maxx and a pair of Nine West heels.

The dress was on clearance for $7- score! It has pockets and it's pretty adorable. I'm probably going to add little cap sleeves eventually, as strapless and I don't get along.

The shoes were $4.99 on Ebay. They are brand new, but one shoe was missing the laces! I just used some black ribbon I had around my apartment. Eventually I'll experiment with different widths and colors. I had some better pictures of the shoes, but my camera seems to have eaten them...

In one of the pictures I'm experimenting with a Coach scarf I had lying around, trying to do something with my hair. I'm trying to grow it long again and getting pretty impatient.



A big thanks to Lyddiegal from Chic on the Cheap for the award! You are easily one of my favorite bloggers and just too damn cute.

Because I Can Never Have Too Many of These Posts...

I absolutely need my paycheck tomorrow, not next Thursday. The reason? Isn't it always Modcloth?

Thing I need:  Perfect Work Shoes- $34.99
Thin justification: I've been looking for THE closed-toe black work pump for a while. This is vegan and I really prefer leather, but I figure for this cheap I could give it a try. I am smitten with that heel.

Thing I need: Daisy Earrings $11.99
Thin justification: I fell in love with an almost identical pair at a local store here, but didn't want to pay the $24 they wanted for them. Much better price!

Thing I need: Octopus necklace - $14.99
Thin justification: I love octopus jewelry!

Thing I need: Purple dress - $47.99
Thin justification:  Okay, fessing up, I really don't need this at all. I just want it. I just bought a short purple dress yesterday!

Knight and Day.

Since I heard about Knight and Day, I've been telling everyone who would listen (and a few people who tried not to) that it did not look promising to me. In fact, it sounded to me like it was made up for a tv show or movie character to star in (like when Joey was in Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E. on FRIENDS, or when Bella and co. went to watch Face Punch in that Twilight sequel). I'm not a big Tom Cruise fan, or Cameron Diaz fan... I don't know. I just lacked interest.

But go I did yesterday, when it turned out I had already seen all the movies I actually was interested in seeing. I still had that "wanna go see a movie" craving.

I have to say, it wasn't bad. Not much more than your standard spy flick, but definitely not awful. The most fun part was Cameron Diaz's wardrobe. For the most part, it wasn't that fancy or unique. But I distinctly remember at least three "Well, now I'll have to buy one of those" moments.

This was my favorite look, though it's atypical of the character (she was trying on a bridesmaid's dress and got a bit distracted...):

This has a lot of my favorite elements. It's colorful, it has a full, tulle-boosted skirt, and then she has this cross-body bag and motorcycle boots to give it a casual, fun vibe. It was supposed to be ridiculous, but I would wear this out!

For the most part, June (Diaz) wore fitted button-ups with a white tank underneath, skinny jeans, aviators, the crossbody bag above, and an array of awesome flat boots. It wasn't that any of this was particularly innovative, but it was casual and cool and flattering in the best way. It's hard to find a lot of photos, but to give some idea:

My favorite pieces were her big, chunky men's watch and her slouchy motorcycle boots (you can kind of see both in the yellow dress pictures I'm posting) and they were added to my running wish list. I loved her cross-body bag as well:

The thing I especially liked about the bag is that she wears the same one throughout the movie. Tons of women have one essential bag that they wear every single day (mine being my Fossil cross-body bag, as you see here) and I get bored of movies pretending otherwise. In a similar vein- try watching Leap Year. She wears a pair of Louboutins to walk for days across Ireland... dirt roads, sandy beaches, you name it. She treats this pair of 4 1/2 inch stilettos as though they're sneakers, then about halfway through complains that she can't climb a hill in them. I'm all for fantasy, but does that kind of thing drive you nuts in movies too? My feet hurt just watching it!